SANTA CLARA — Earthquakes target men Steven Lenhart and Alan Gordon don’t see themselves as saviors, but the team is grateful to have them back.

The “Bash Brothers” will be on the active roster together for the first time this season Saturday night against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Buck Shaw Stadium in the MLS Western Conference game.

It remains to be seen if either will start.

Gordon, who played 22 minutes in a 2-0 road loss against the Houston Dynamo last week, is recovering from offseason foot surgery. Lenhart, who had offseason surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus, hopes to make his season debut. He has looked sharp in five-on-two drills in practice.

Coach Frank Yallop was impressed with Gordon’s comeback effort, saying he “changed the game for us.”

“It was OK,” Gordon said modestly. “It’s good to be out there. There’s gonna be some ugliness that I’ve got to work through, and that’s just part of it. I think that getting minutes was the most important part about last week. Unfortunately the game didn’t go as we wanted.”

The Quakes (2-2-1) are probably relieved to have scraped together seven points in the standings while playing without as many as seven regulars.

“It would be nice to be 5-0, but that’s not the way it goes,” Yallop said. “I think it’s a solid start for us. We’ve got to say ‘well done’ to the guys that played in the absence of the regulars that are now coming back. We really, really like our squad. We’re getting healthy.”

Gordon marvels at the team’s depth, a trademark last year.

“It’s never been about one or two specific guys,” Gordon said. “We’ve been pretty adamant about that, so everybody has full support if they’re out on the field from everybody, on the bench and in the stands.”

Kindred spirits and forces in the air, Lenhart and Gordon combined for 23 goals last season, often alternating as starters. Their return could spark Chris Wondolowski, who has two goals — one in the run of play — and several near-misses.

Rookie target man Adam Jahn, a supplemental draft pick out of Stanford, has seized his opportunity because of all the injuries up front. He scored the tying goal in a 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls on March 10. Yallop lauded the sharp play of newcomers Jahn and defender Ty Harden thus far.

Like the Quakes, Vancouver (2-2-0) has faced adversity. Captain Jay Demerit, the Whitecaps’ emotional leader, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon only six minutes into the season.

Scottish designated player Kenny Miller leads Vancouver with two goals.

“They’re very good up front, fast. Good on the break,” Yallop said of Vancouver. “They move the ball pretty well. They’ve played pretty well this year, especially at home.”